
World War II Videos TheBattle of Kursk was a horrific armor battle, between Nazi Germany and the USSR. Many view the Battle of Kursk as the turning point on the Eastern Front. After Kursk the German Army in the East, was a defense force against massive Soviet offensives. Operational delays set back the German timetable several times. By the time the German offensive was to commence, almost every German commander opposed the attack. Even Hitler explained to Col.Gen.Guderian: the mere thought of this battle makes my stomach turn. Several new German tanks took part in the offensive. The PzKw VI Tiger, was a battle tested design. The PzKw V Panther was Germanys answer to the T-34/76. The Panther was brilliantly designed. Well slopped and thick armor could blunt the T-34s 76mm gun at distance. The Panthers 75mm cannon shell possessed a higher muzzle velocity than the Tigers 88mm L/56 cannon. The Panther could reach an astonishing 30-35 mph on paved roads. However, the Panther was rushed into service without proper testing. The introduction of the Panther at Kursk proved to be a failure. By 1944 the Panther was the best medium tank, if not the best tank of World War II. The Elephant was an assault gun, with a turret less 88mm cannon. Its armor was impervious to any anti-tank gun at Kursk. The Elephants weakness lay its inability to defend itself against anti-tank infantry. The German offensive against the Kursk Salient proved a failure. Never again did Germany launch a full <b>...</b>
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